


The Name of The Doctor

by llenclyen



Category: Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 16:40:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1751456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/llenclyen/pseuds/llenclyen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in 1953 or so, John Watson, on the advice of his girlfriend (Wendy Darling) goes to pay a visit to a clock repair shop.  He finds someone who's life he changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Name of The Doctor

Watson went to the address Wendy had given him. He was apprehensive about this errand as it was Alice who had provided the location initially, but his watch was in need of repair and supposedly this was the best shop for it. 'Fixing Time' was printed on the sign outside. Well, certainly the chap inside would be odd, but then again Watson dealt with Sherlock peculiarities on a regular basis, and Alice was not an uncommon visitor either. How bad could this 'Doctor' be?  
“Hello, I was given your name by my girlfriend who said -”  
He cut off as he laid eyes on a strange box that glowed. He went to examine it closer when the shop owner appeared.  
“Don't touch that! My goodness gracious have you no manners? That device is -”  
The tall man in an attire that would have looked more at place a century ago stared at Watson. His eyes grew wide and his skin became as pale as his hair.  
“By all the stars of Gallifrey. It's you.”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“Oh, do please, please come in. You have a watch for me to fix?”  
The man offered Watson a chair and took his watch. He started in on it straight away with a strange device that hummed and whirred. Watson hadn't seen anything like it before, but it seemed to be fixing his watch.  
“I never thought I would see you again. You have no idea how grateful I am to have your company today.”  
“Excuse me, have we met?”  
“Oh, pardon me, of course you wouldn't recognize me. I've changed my face twice since we last met. So much has changed.”  
“Who are you?”  
“This is quite embarrassing. You would know me as... Sergeant Grimshaw I believe it was.”  
Watson looked at this man carefully. Sergeant Grimshaw was a shorter man with sharp features. He had a nasty temper and would have been about twenty years older than this fellow.  
“Now see here sir, I don't find it funny to hear you claiming to be a service man. Grimshaw would be in his 70s by now and you look nothing like him.”  
“You are indeed correct my dear Doctor Watson. He would be, nevertheless, I am he.”  
“How did you know my name?”  
“You received a limp at the Battle of El Alamein didn't you.”  
“Yes...”  
“It happened when a wounded German officer shot you as you were approaching him to tend to his wounds.”  
Watson had not told this story to anyone. Not his mates in the company, not Sherlock, not even Wendy. But this man couldn't be Sergeant Grimshaw!  
“I saw what you did then. You took cover, bandaged your wound, gave yourself some pain killer, and called out to the man that you were trying to help him. He was half mad and badly injured. He kept shooting at you using all manner of language.”  
“He was a man in pain.”  
“And your enemy. But that didn't matter to you. All you could see was a man in pain that you could help. Even after he shot you.”  
“Sergeant Grimshaw was there, he took aim to kill him.”  
“And you ordered me not to. I protested, even cited your leg as reason to kill him and be done with it. But you wouldn't let me. You ordered me to stand down.”  
“And after awhile I was able to convince him to let me treat his injuries.”  
“He had a pnemothorax and internal bleeding, along with broken ribs. You saved him. When you ordered me to stand down you said 'I am doctor first, soldier second.”  
Watson looked at this strange man who handed his watch back to him.  
“You look nothing like Sergeant Grimshaw, but I haven't told a soul that story. Not a one.”  
“There are stranger things in this universe than a man who can change his face my dear friend. So much more strange and wondrous. I have seen many of them, yet you, you are one of the wonders that has truly stunned me. You changed my life.  
“Even if I believed that you were Sergeant Grimshaw, how could I have changed your life?”  
“Before I met you I was running away from my home, from my own battles, from my own life. I sought adventure for the sake of glory, and didn't care overly much about who I hurt. Others were largely irrelevant to me, I felt so much better than them. I fear I am still running, and I am very prideful, but now I look at others and try to build them up as I can. Mend what is wrong if possible.”  
“That is a noble cause.”  
“It is more than that my good doctor. My people, when we go out and travel, we take on different names. More like titles really. I had not chosen one until I met you. I thought I would be known as a traveler, or adventurer. Perhaps a hero, or a warrior. A strong sounding name. But you, you demonstrated such strength of character by stooping to assist one who would do you harm. By absolutely refusing to give in to his hatred you showed this foolish old man what true character really is.”  
The funny watchmaker who called himself the Doctor, was shaking a little, and there were tears in his eyes. Watson, not knowing what else to do, patted the man on his shoulder. The Doctor looked at him and summoned the strength to finish.  
“Doctor Watson. I hope that in my long life I will show half the character you did that day and be, in some small part, the man I saw that day. You are the reason I took the name The Doctor. To remind me to be better than I am. And, while to you this will probably mean very little, as I cannot explain my whole story, know that you are The Doctor's Doctor.”  
Watson was very confused, but felt that perhaps this fellow was, somehow, the same old Sergeant that he once knew.  
“I don't know anything about your life sir. I wish I did. I wish I had words enough for you but all I can offer is that, I am happy that you have made it your cause to help where you can. If you really want to be a doctor though, we will have to have you pledged.”  
“Pledged?”  
“The Hippocratic Oath. I can charge you with that if you would like.”  
“Oh yes, please.”  
They recited the words, each feeling the weight of their vow to do no harm and the enormity of what that meant for their lives. After that Watson said his goodbyes. He tried to pay for the watch, but The Doctor refused, he would not take any payment from Watson. After the good doctor left, the Doctor closed his shop for the day and sat down to consider how his life had measured up to the responsibilities he claimed, and to feel the bliss of earning some small respect from the man who had shaped his life.


End file.
